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No, that's a common mistake. In fact, there can be causation without a sentient causal entity. Zebras have stripes because their stripes shoo away flies, which
by vntok 8y ago
No, that's a common mistake. In fact, there can be causation without a sentient causal entity.
Zebras have stripes because their stripes shoo away flies, which helped previous generations of zebras who had stripes thrive and pass their genes forward.
Why do zebras have stripes? Because they shoo flies away and evolution ensured that that helpful trait kept passing through descendants until every zebra had it as a dominant, visible trait.
No one ever said there had to be "someone" somewhere to paint zebras black and white, that's just you using anthropomorphized evolution as a straw man/entity.
- laszlokorte 8y agoIt's still a philosophical debate if such an phenomenon can be seen as cause and effect. It's a similar problem as with teleological views in eg biology and medicine: "what's the task/purpose of the lungs?" - there is no predefined task.
- the_af 8y ago> Zebras have stripes because their stripes shoo away flies, which helped previous generations of zebras who had stripes thrive and pass their genes forward. Not necessarily. A trait may also be there simply because it's not actively harmful, or maybe because it's a useless side-effect of another trait that is beneficial. It may be that zebras have stripes because they are not harmful enough to prevent them from passing their genes forward. (of course, in this particular case the flies hypothesis seems more likely).
- lurquer 8y ago> which helped previous generations of zebras who had stripes thrive and pass their genes forward. You don't know that. The article doesn't even bother to test it. They've observed that stripes lead to fewer horsefly landings. Interesting. I guess. But, talking about evolution is a non sequitor. Show me the data where a zebra's fecundity is related to the number of horsefly bites it receives. There isn't any. One can speculate about such things. But, if one wishes to be scientific, test to see if there is a measurable effect. For all we know, zebras with MORE horsefly bites are MORE likely to reproduce. There simply is no data in the article one way or the other. So bringing up evolution is just mindless unscientific just-so-storytelling.
- vntok 8y agoAnimal trypanosomiasis, transmitted by tsetse flies, causes "fever, weakness, and lethargy, which lead to weight loss and anemia; in some animals the disease is fatal unless treated". Doesn't it sound like such diseases are likely to alter a zebra's fecundity?
- lurquer 8y agoThe study involved horseflies in England... not tse-tse flies in Africa. As far as the effect of 'such diseases' on a zebra's fecundity, I have no idea. For all we know, a feverish lethargic zebra is EASIER for a stallion to mount than a healthy zebra. Nobody knows. The study, incidentally, did not deal with the types of flies accustomed to biting zebras. I have every reason to think a typical African biting fly would have no problem alighting on a zebra... it's what they do for a living.